Cincinnati Ballet's season opener offers crowd-pleasing, modern-leaning good time

Dance is never better than when paired with live music. Starting its season, Cincinnati Ballet's 'New Works' opening-night Thursday marked the sole performance featuring live musical accompaniment from popular local artists for three of five local choreographers' works (plus one cool Italian native).

Cincinnati Ballet taps local talent for its season opener

Current times call for convergence: of collaborations, of community, especially local community. For the first time, Cincinnati Ballet's annual repertory showcase 'New Works' focuses on homegrown talent to provide fresh choreography and music. We're encouraged to buy local, so why not tap in-town talent?

Companies adapt to economy, hold their feet to the fire

Even with President Obama's "stimulus" plan and package, there's still much to be desired in terms of arts funding. But there's some good news as well: The Contemporary Dance Theater has landed a respectable sum from the NEA Arts Recovery and Recruitment grant program. Meanwhile, Cincinnati Ballet gears up for a stellar and diversified season.

Kellye A. Saunders and Matthew Prescott are together again

Between them, they have worked with some of the most significant modern choreographers on the dance scene today and have performed in top-ranked companies. One is a former dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem and the other grew up on a ranch two miles east of Boise, Idaho.

Following last season's 'Baker's Dozen,' Cincinnati Ballet again presents a piece choreographed by Twyla Tharp and restaged by veteran Tharp company member Shelley Washington. This time it's 'Sinatra Suite' from 1984, a series of four duets and a solo set to well-known Sinatra standards. The program also features new works from the Ballet's Associate Artistic Director Devon Carney and New York City-based choreographer Jessica Lang alongside Balanchine's 'Tarantella.'

Eight visions with a local connection merge on stage

Small Streams-2, the newest offering from Cincinnati Choreographers’ Collective this weekend at Contemporary Dance Theater’s College Hill Dance Hall, features the diverse work of eight highly regarded choreographers in two full-length evening performances.

Transcendent, spellbinding and dreamlike could all describe Maureen Fleming’s solo performances. But none would precisely capture one’s response to experiencing her work. Though presented as part of Contemporary Dance Theater’s Guest Artist series, Fleming’s mesmerizing choreography offers a world apart from general expectations of dance.

Divine Performing Arts tour offers a fascinating home away from home

As the world grows smaller in the wake of global media, China is hot. The recent Olympic Games in Beijing underscored the country's emerging presence on the world stage. Locally, the Cincinnati Art Museum's current exhibition, 'China Design Now,' showcases contemporary design work, from architecture and fashion to pop (sub)culture, graphic design and more. And now the world tour of Divine Performing Arts brings some of the country's ancient artistic forms (dance, music and elaborate set visuals) to Music Hall on Dec. 23.

After nearly four decades of dance, Philadanco still promises a fresh mix of material

Philadanco's Founder and Executive Artistic Director Joan Myers Brown has a big, warm, sunny-sounding voice. She speaks to me from a Boston tour stop, where her modern dance company is booked for a three-night run. Mobile phone to mobile phone, we chat.

Expect the unexpected at Cincinnati's "New Works"

One aspect of contemporary dance I appreciate is that, for the most part, you can never really be certain of what you're going to see. This notion also becomes a reason why too many people avoid it: They don't know what to expect; perhaps they fear they won't get it.